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ANKE - By Heart
Doesn't it get to you when they put a load of money and effort into a
project but seem to forget about the first glance image presented to the
public who may not be avid TV or Idols watchers? Yes, folks, the
CD cover issue again. Is Adobe Photoshop such a foreign concept? The bad
choice of stills in the sleeve is only complimented by the bad make-up,
styling and lighting. For someone who picks this up without having a clue
who this 'Anke' is will be hard pressed to purchase on the strength of
the cover look alone. A cover of another kind comes in on track two, in
this case an Anke favourite, Independent Love Song - an
adequate rendition but lacking the spirit of the original, due to the
mere fact that it isn't. As far as these competitions go, the debate wafts
around everything from the voting being driven by race, sex, culture,
actual talent, what have you. Fact remains, the company who has to push
the new artists as a sellable product has its built in criteria and they
want a return on their investment. Not one song was composed by the same
writing teams, leaving it up to Anke to bind the coherent thread
of pop songs with her voice and spirit. While that voice is not a very
distinctive, instantly recognizable one (in a swamp of many clones), she
does manage to hold her own with a sense of confidence and control. The
Latin flavoured track is present, the love songs, the pop tunes, as well
as a semi-rock approach on A Real, Live Girl are all safely packed
in, not to run the risk of offending anyone.
3 / C
- PB
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